Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-06-28
STREAMS OF LIGHTNING.
An Electric Current that Would Kill 1OO,-
900 Men.
RNstpp Harold

Boston Herald.
In g Broadway basement at the corner
Of John street, writes metropolitan
correspondent, is a circular iron plate on
whose surface raised letters indicate that
it belongs TO Mr.. Thomas A. Edison,
Americas greatest inventor. Every other
evening about o'clock, after the busy
thCroughfare has been deserted by every
son of toll, excepting it may be the thirsty
tramp and the thirstier policemen, an
intelligent, neatly dressed man, carrying
medium-sized box, energies from the
dusk snd stops at the plate. From the
box he draws singular looking rug
about two feet square and four inches
thick, composed of loosely wound and
more loosely woven cotton wick. On
this he kneels and then, with queer as
sortment of cold chisels, cleaners, Jim
mics and WrenChes, removes the plate
after much toll from the metal frame in
which it was so firmly set. Beneath is 8
large square chamber whose walls and
floor seem to be inCrusted metal. Near
both tor and bottom are ponderous
rings of polished copper, separated and
held in place by unacceptable pads and
washers of some dark substance that
looks like silky India rubber. From each
ring wires radiste, passing through the
walls OF the chamber and losing them
selves in the earth below the pavement.
The man covers his hand with a rubber
glove, and works few minutes with the
complicated attachments, here removing
piece, there tightening q screw, here
changing the positions of g. wire and
there inserting an insulsr. AS he paused
| asked him which Of the many electric
systems begotten in Menlo park he was
engaged upon.
This time upon the Edison ilIuminat-
ing, though I superIntend several others,
and frequently am called in to consult
upon electrical matters by outside con-
Germs. Tonight l am testing and regu-
latiUg.n
"Why do you take so many precau-
tions?"
"Partly for my own safety and partly
for the sake of doing first class work.
You see, there is q current moving
through those two mains, as we call
them, that could kill 100000 men in an
instant. If, through cerelessness, l put
myself in its way and got its full force,
that would be the last of me. A year ago
l was little thoughtless or clumsy and
slightly grounded the negative main
I'll It is, touched that upper ring of cop
per when one knee was on the bare paw
ing stone. Here's what the current
did" He rolled up his coat ard
shirt-seeve ard displayed a muscu-
lar arm that looked as if it had
been engraved with chisei and then
eaten with nitric acid to produce an etch-
ing plate. 81 was in the hospital over q
month for that, and it was so tough les
son that I'll never forget it. I'll show
you how strong that current is" He
took broken pair of fine pliers, and
holding them with cleft piece OF wood,
touched one end of the upper copper ring
and one to the steel cover rim. In an in
slant the gray metal broke into sparks
aud fame. He removed it with the re
mark: "That current would burn up
crowbar or lamp post if it were prop
erly directed"
"Is there much dangeT?"
"There used 10 be, but it grows smaller
every day. as we know more about hand
ling electricity. It's like a horse some
times that runs away 1t will get into
railroad tracks and knock q horse over,
and sometimes kill the animal. Some
times it leaks out of the wires and gets
into water or steam pipe and then par
alyzes some of the Italians you see dig
ging Up the streets nowadays. They
think it's the devil and hold a prayer